Re: finishing causticly stripped oak chair

Sure you can use a paste grain filler, and you can tint it for different effects like dark to make the chair look older. There are a few different types on the market. You also could use a Gel stain if you're going to stain it and then a sanding sealer and a few well rubbed coats of whatever you're finishing with, or you could pad on a Gel Varnish (tung oil, or alkyd/poly) which is great for chairs, and because of the Gel consistancy will further fill the grain quite nicely.Wet or dry sand between coats and steel wool for the last coats, followed by a good paste waxing. That may well fill up the grain enough for your tastes and is a lot less work. Usually finished Oak has a somewhat open grain. I would imagine you'd like to make it look somewhat aged anyway given the date of the chair, so the grain pores should be dark and the chair should have a deep golden brown color...